Tag Archives: faith positive

Review: Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali

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Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali

Saints and Misfits
S. K. Ali
Salaam Reads
Published June 13, 2017

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About Saints and Misfits

How much can you tell about a person just by looking at them?

Janna Yusuf knows a lot of people can’t figure out what to make of her…an Arab Indian-American hijabi teenager who is a Flannery O’Connor obsessed book nerd, aspiring photographer, and sometime graphic novelist is not exactly easy to put into a box.

And Janna suddenly finds herself caring what people think. Or at least what a certain boy named Jeremy thinks. Not that she would ever date him—Muslim girls don’t date. Or they shouldn’t date. Or won’t? Janna is still working all this out.

While her heart might be leading her in one direction, her mind is spinning in others. She is trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be, and what it means to be a saint, a misfit, or a monster. Except she knows a monster…one who happens to be parading around as a saint…Will she be the one to call him out on it? What will people in her tightknit Muslim community think of her then?

SAINTS AND MISFITS is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.

My Review

This book made me think a lot about the way that we tend to reduce people to being just one or two things– because it did the opposite so well. Each character is so different and has so many layers. I feel like we often see people of faith represented in sort of cookie cutter ways, and I loved seeing all the varied representations of different types of people here. It might be the most honest, authentic stories centered around a faith community that I’ve ever read. (I loved ONCE WAS LOST by Sara Zarr, too.)

Janna faces her own misjudgments about the people around her as well as being pleasantly– and sometimes unpleasantly– surprised by those around her. I loved her relationship with her elderly neighbor and the way his friendship impacted her and her friendships with Tats and Sarah and Sausun. Janna learns a lot about courage, finding her voice, and learning to speak up for herself. It’s about confronting evil even when it emerges in what should be a sacred space.

The book doesn’t just tackle hard issues and relationships and faith questions, though. It’s quirky and funny and so much fun to read. Janna’s voice is often self-deprecating and wry and smart. I loved that.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading SAINTS AND MISFITS, and I totally bawled through the big climactic scenes where Janna does the thing she most needs to do. MISFIT IN LOVE, a new adventure about Janna and her family and friends, comes out soon, and I really can’t wait to read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most major characters are Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A boy grabs a girl and pins her down, groping her against her will.

Spiritual Content
Janna references prayer and attends several events at the mosque with her family. Her uncle is the imam, and as part of her job helping with the mosque website, she helps with the grammar of some answers to questions people in the community have asked about Islam.

Violent Content
See romance trigger warning. There are also some instances of online bullying. Girls post pictures of Janna without her hijab and others post cruel comments on the photos.

Drug Content
Janna and her friend attend a party where teens are drinking. Janna does not drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of SAINTS AND MISFITS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Amina’s Song by Hena Khan

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Amina’s Song
Hena Khan
Simon & Schuster / Salaam Reads
Published March 9, 2021

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About Amina’s Song

It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with her family—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. Now that the school year is starting again, she’s sad to leave, but also excited to share the wonders of Pakistan with her friends back in Greendale.

After she’s home, though, her friends don’t seem overly interested in her trip. And when she decides to do a presentation on Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, her classmates focus on the worst parts of the story. How can Amina share the beauty of Pakistan when no one wants to listen?

In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning AMINA’S VOICE, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves—this time across continents.

My Review

I read AMINA’S SONG at the perfect time– just when I needed a warm, fun story of community and family and belonging. I loved the chapters showing Amina with her family in Pakistan. The descriptions of the market, the rooftop, and the food all made those scenes come to life. I also loved Amina’s relationship with her cousin Zohra and her uncle.

I also loved the way the story followed her faith and her connection with her mosque and the ways she and others sought to help refugees who had just come to America. That generosity and welcoming warmth was really sweet.

As with AMINA’S VOICE, this story also focuses on Amina’s internal journey. She feels caught between her love for America and Pakistan and at a loss for how to explain and show that love to the people in her life on each side. I love that her path led her to compose her own music and challenged her to find ways to speak up, both in her class project about Malala and in her friendships.

All in all, I’d say this book is another winner. It’s got a strong faith-positive message, and a beautiful celebration of community as well as a thoughtful, brave heroine in Amina. Readers who enjoy multicultural stories or are looking for books that celebrate community will definitely want this one on their shelves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Amina’s family are Pakinstani-American Muslims. The first part of the book takes places in Lahore, Pakistan, where Amina is visiting her family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Amina makes friends with a boy at school and her friends tease her about being romantically interested. She is not allowed to date, and believes she wants to simply be friends with Nico.

Spiritual Content
Amina and her family are Muslims. She talks about reading the Quran and spending time in prayer. She’s also involved with continued fundraising to rebuild the mosque her family attends after it was vandalized a year earlier.

Violent Content
Amina learns about Malala and briefly discusses that she was shot in the head by the Taliban. She tells her cousin she was afraid to come to Pakistan because of the stories of violence she’d heard on the news. Her cousins in Pakistan worry that Amina and her brother could be shot, since they see reports of school shootings in the news so often.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of AMINA’S SONG in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. All opinions are my own.